Health Benefits Of Beer

Contrary to the popular perception, health experts
said beer has lots of health and lifestyle benefits
when consumed moderately. They said this at the
first Beer and Health Symposium, an initiative of
Nigerian Breweries Plc aimed at changing what the
company considers as a faulty public perception
towards the product.
Speaking at the event held in Lagos on Tuesday,
Professor Bankole Omotosho of the University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa, said beer could prevent
diabetes; reduce stomach ulcer and cholesterol level
when consumed moderately.
Omotoso regretted that religion and wrong perception
had prevented many people from benefiting from the
medical value in beer consumption, adding, “many
people have never looked at beer beyond alcohol.” The
university Don, however, warned against its abuse,
advising men to restrict themselves to one to three
bottles. The female folks due to their slower alcohol
absorption rate, he said, should take less quantity.
Of responsible beer consumption, he continued, “To
drink moderately is to drink within the limit set by
your health, society and obligations to family and
friends. Nobody wants to be a nuisance to the
society.”
Omotoso traced the history of beer to about 400,000
years ago when Babylonian fathers-in-laws would
supply the substance to their newly-married sons-in-
laws, saying the rite was instituted in recognition of
its (beer) health value. He argued that beer could not
have had negative effects when its top four
ingredients – barley, hops, water and yeast – have
enormous health advantage.
Head of Food Technology, Bells University of
Technology, Dr. Olu Malomo, dismissed the
masculine myth about beer consumption. He argued
that the first beer brewers could not have been women
if it was exclusively men’s drink.
“While religious bigots kick against beer
consumption, it is important to note that modern
brewing started in monasteries,” he said, adding
that the drink was a natural drink brewed from
natural ingredients. Both men and female benefit
from moderate beer consumption whereas African
culture frowned at female consumers, he observed.
Malomo said the ability of sorghum, a beer
ingredient, to reduce mortality and cardiovascular
diseases has been clinically proved. According to
him, beer also helps to flush out excess salt in
human system.
The academic regretted that intake was still very low
in Nigeria whereas South Africa’s consumption rate
has exceeded 60 per cent. He, however, noted that the
market, which was contracted by the economic
downturn, had experienced considerable growth since
1999, a trend driven by innovation and market share
expansion.
Tobore Akpodibi, a medical practitioner, said
consumer’s lifestyle and attitude not beer, was
responsible for ‘pot’ belly, which many people
associate with alcohol.
He explained, “People who go to bed as soon as they
finish drinking stand the chance of developing big
tummy,” recalling how beer consumption came to his
rescue when he was diagnosed to have a stone in the
heart.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria
Breweries, Nicolaas Vervelde, said the company has
contributed much to the country’s economic
development and helping Nigerians to live healthy
lifestyle but regretted the damage caused by negative
perception.
Vervelde said responsible drinking and moderation
was fundamental to harnessing beer benefit, and
that the company has been at the forefront of
promoting that.
But the participants said the company needed to do
more to rev up campaign against irresponsible
consumption. Safety experts who were at the
programme said little has changed since the
campaign against alcohol abuse commenced some
years ago.

The Vanguard